asked the Taoiseach if he will state the (1) number, (2) grades, (3) rate of remuneration and (4) particular duties of persons wholly or partially engaged on the travellers' census; further, if he will state the total cost of this inquiry or census for the last financial year or for the year 1953; whether it is regarded as strictly accurate and what is the need for its continuance.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - The Travellers' Census.
I presume that the Deputy's question relates to the sample passenger card inquiry which is made every eighth day on a number of passenger routes into and out of the country. Twenty part-time enumerators are engaged in the distribution and collection of the cards for the inquiry, their periods of duty and rates of remuneration varying with the routes which they cover and the season of the year at which the inquiry is being made. The total expenditure in respect of remuneration etc. of these enumerators in the financial year ended 31st March, 1953, was £2,012. In addition, the subsequent clerical processing of the results from the cards requires the services of a staff of four writing assistants, and part of the services of one clerical officer, one staff clerk class V, and one staff clerk class II, estimated roughly to cost £1,500 a year. It is not possible to state exactly what card punching etc. staff is employed in connection with this inquiry, but its cost, with that of printing of cards etc., is estimated at £650 per annum.
The inquiry is a sample one and therefore is not designed to be exhaustive or to yield precisely accurate results. Its principal use is for the estimation of the very large figure of "Net receipts in respect of tourism, travel etc." entered at Item 14 of the Balance of International Payments Statement and the method by which this is done has been explained in the article "Tourist and Other Receipts and Expenditure" on pages 166 and 168 of the September 1951 issue of the Irish Trade Journal and Statistical Bulletin. For this purpose, it is believed that the inquiry yields results of essential value and fully justifies the expenditure on it.